Created on Friday, 04 January 2013
Written by THE BELLEFONTAINE EXAMINER STAFF

Pirates roll to 70-26 victory

Riverside’s Elizabeth McGowen looks to pass the ball to a teammate as Ridgemont’s Aislinn McCullough defends during the first half of their game Thursday at Riverside High School. (EXAMINER PHOTO | AARON LaBATT)

Riverside’s girls basketball team was hitting on all cylinders Thursday as it raced past visiting Ridgemont 70-26 in a Northwest Central Conference matchup.

The win bumps the Pirates to 2-10 overall and 1-2 in the NWCC. The Gophers fall to 0-10, 0-2.

“We only have nine healthy players on our roster,” said Ridgemont head coach Jeff Merklin. “One of our starters and our first girl off the bench were sick and out, so that really affected our depth.

“We got plenty of shots off, 51 in all, but we were just 1-of-26 from behind the (three-point) arc. Obviously, that isn’t going to win many games.”

Riverside rolled to a 17-5 lead after the opening quarter and outscored Ridgemont 16-3 in the second quarter. That put the Pirates on top 33-8 at halftime.